This reminds me a lot of Spitting Image-- a
re-usable effect that makes copies of creatures.
This makes copies of artifacts as well, at the
cost of not being able to be cast with green
mana. Would you like to copy a creature and then
copy the Equipment it's wearing?
I can't think of that many good noncreature
artifacts that I'd be willing to pay six mana to
get a second one. Getting my own copy of the
best thing my opponent's got wouldn't be so bad
though. And of course, the promise of another
copy of the best creature n the board each turn
is definitely a sweet proposition. Trouble is,
to get this to go off a second time, you have to
hit with the creature you encoded it onto. That
means you have to have a decent evasive creature
(or at least use the first Stolen Identity to
make a copy of one). And if you can reliably
sneak a guy in for damage, then you're already
pretty much winning-- the copies of creatures
are just "win more".
I'm not necessarily a huge fan of the "make a
token that's a copy" cards, more for logistical
reasons than for anything else. With a regular
clone, people usually put it next to the
original as long as the original's in play;
making a token adds another thing you need to
use, and heaven forbid said token has any
writing already on it (because it's a rules card
or something) because sooner or later you'll
meet somebody who complains about it. If you
manage to solve this problem, you'll find that
Stolen Identity has much the same applications
as other copying cards, but the cipher ability
just gets out of hand - I assume you're mostly
copying creatures with comes-into-play abilities
or effect-on-damage abilities? At least in
constructed. Wanna spend six mana only on cards
that actively win the game? This is your go-to
spell.
Welcome back readers todays card of the day is
the interesting Stolen Identity a powerful way
to clone artifacts and creatures. In standard
this card is expensive and at six mana spells
start needing to be able to compete with the big
boys and this card is not the most exciting but
in a specific deck I could see it being used to
break a creature stalemate wide open as you can
cast it, swing and then make another token
putting you into quite an advantageous
situation. Now does this situation occur
frequently enough to make it a worthwhile
inclusion in constructed time will tell but I
feel this card has potential. In other
competitive formats this card is just too slow
to make an impact. In casual and multiplayer
clone effects are fantastic and clone effects
that double as artifacts are a real boon, this
card is more reliant on having a creature of
your own but is a way of providing constant
advantage. In limited it’s a powerful card if
you can cipher it at least once and can end
games quickly. Overall a card I feel has a small
amount of standard potential and will be seen
around kitchen tables a unique take on clone
effects.
Today's card of the day is Stolen Identity
which is a six mana Blue with Cipher that puts a
token into play that is a copy of target
creature.
Combined with an evasive, particularly an
unblockable one, for Cipher that preferably has
Hexproof this can be a strong combo and finisher
for a control deck. The mana cost is a bit
high and relying on worthwhile targets in play
can be problematic, but with each aspect
available it quickly justifies the value.
Invisible Stalker is an excellent choice, though
many others work depending on an opponent's
defensive abilities.
In Limited the high cost isn't as much of an
issue and anything with evasion can and will win
games once it starts multiplying. It
requires a bit more from the battlefield to work
well compared to other bomb level cards, but
this is worth a first pick in Booster and
automatic inclusion in Sealed for Simic or Dimir
in booster. The number of potential uses
including copying the opponent's biggest threat,
your own threat, or a stackable effect allow
this to be at least playable in almost any
situation.
